The Destroyers

Solace walks out of the tent with Jacob, Teresa and Nancy not far behind. The rumbling of hundreds of motorcycles sent the town in to a frenzy, doors and windows slam shut as the four run towards the east gate of Kal. At the front of the monster sits Tony “Death Kill” Jones. Jacob brakes away from the small group blocking the gate and walks up to the leader. He yells instructions at Jones, who stares directly at the mayor through his mirrored sunglasses. His head barley moves but Jacob knows he has agreed to the terms. As one, the gang power down.

Tony hops off his bike, helps his Wife off the back. The top of Jones’ head just reaches her waist, but his walk is that of a forty foot tall man. He shakes hands with Solace, all the time not taking his eyes off of the mayor. The silence is only broken by Patricia and Andy making their noisy way to the gate.

Solace hands Jones a sheet of paper. He reads it, scoffing halfway down and looking up at Solace. He shrugs down at Jones when he looks up in disbelief. Finally, Jones passes the paper back to his wife, she reads it quickly and turns to two men and gives them instruction. As the word gets passed around Jones takes off his helmet and motions to Solace for a quick word. When Teresa shows curiosity Jones stares at her, she takes the hint and turns with the excuse of examining Patricia’s body armor.

“Is this something that will do us any good, this little contract of hers?”

“No, its all one sided. You help her with the attack today then leave and never comeback. No payment, no fun with the locals, nothing.”

“As long as I know where I stand with her, anything for the Traveler.” They both look over at Teresa, stealing glances at them as she flips Andy’s vest right side around. Vera walks back to her husband, today she is uncharacteristically covered up, a pair of boots, jeans and a pea coat buttoned up just enough to hide most of her otherwise bare chest. Jones looks over and makes sure all the correct signatures on on the paper before adding his own.

“I’ll take that.” Nancy hold out her hand, her other still holding a rag to her bloodied lip.

“Mama, who fucked you up?” Jones coos.

“Endre Gosz.” She says with as much nonchalances as she can muster. Vera’s face contorts with fear and disgust.

“He is here?” her thick Russian voice cracks with a fear Solace has never heard before.

“Yes, why?”

“He’s the bastard I saved her from.”

“Holly shit, Vera I never new.”

“Today, the man who took my motherhood dies.” She places a hand on her belly, very near the scar Solace has seen before. Endre was the man she spoke about so many years ago, the pimp who ripped away her ability to have children.

After another thunderous roar all of the motorcycles are parked behind the walls of Kal and the now massive army awaits the arrival of Casanova and Gloria. Jones curses the old friend of the traveler under his breath, Vera whispers patients to her golden handgun, and Solace paces back and fourth a few feet ahead of the masses. Jacob, Alan, Edgar, Andy and Patricia wait just behind a small group of Destroyers. Solace stops only when the low expensive rumble of a Rolls Royce reaches them a minute before the vehicle can be seen.

The Rolls stops a few hundred yards away and after a full minute a man in a red leather chauffeurs jacket exits and opens the back door. Gloria Gillory, in her red leather corset and lace dress, steps out holding a leashed abomination. From the other side Casanova makes his own way out. The abomination sniffs the air earnestly, like a hound looking for a lost scent. Casanova makes his way around to Gloria and pulls something out of his coat. He tosses it on the floor for the leashed thing to smell. It slowly lifts off its hands and stands almost human like, with its eyeless face turned directly at Solace. Endre walks over to it and detaches the leash from its collar. The thing’s chest swells with the sudden freedom before bolting wildly at Solace. Slobber flies out of its mouth, it screams and roars simultaneously as it claws blindly at the air. Ten feet from Solace it falls dead with Vera’s bullet lodged in its head.

No one moves, then as one the army of Kal lift their weapons and point them at the three standing so far away. Just then, the abomination moves, or rather something squirms inside its head. The war happening behind the bullet whole becomes so violent that the skull swells twice the size. And before Solace and the rest of the army and horrible finger pushes through the bullet hole. Seconds later a new abomination claws its way out of the formers head. It stands and makes its way towards Solace. The group of Destroyers standing in front of Jacob and the others charge it and knock it back a few feet before riddling it with bullets. After another raging squirm five abominations tear their way out of the second. Again he Destroyers bring them down with their guns, only to find themselves surrounded by two dozen brand new abominations.

“Stop!” Jones cries out.

The group retreats, they grab Solace and drag him behind the gates. Dave the guard hurries over and closes the gate before the abominations can enter. Leaning their eyeless faces on the chain link the twenty four monsters take deep wet breaths, reviling in the fear they have created. A scream echos behind Solace, he turns to see a female guard pointing towards the trees on the left side of the road. Hundreds of abominations march to join the others trying to get at Solace.